On Friday Irene and I went to the Really Big Quilt Show at the Rosemont Convention Center -- technically, International Quilt Festival/Chicago. Quilts Inc., the show manager, has changed the schedule -- now open 10-6 Thursday and Friday and 10-5 Saturday. The format has changed as well. Instead of workshops and classes on Thursday and Friday (necessitating advance registration, classrooms and sewing machine setup) there are on-the-floor demonstrations. (I remember the first RBQS back in 2003. It was at Rosemont but in a smaller hall. It was mobbed. I heard later that the convention center planners did not believe the attendance estimates that the QI staff provided. Yes, more than 20,000 people will turn out to a major quilt show! Now the show is in the huge hall on the ground floor.)
We had lunch with my Magpie friend Anna. We saw fellow guild members. A couple of people greeted me -- they recognized my selvedge tote bag or had seen my blog.
There were more quilts on display than previous years. There was only one no-photos exhibit (antique red-and-green quilts). There weren't as many vendors, but that didn't stop me from shopping and acquiring fabric. Just 29 yards that included batiks, nice-quality homespuns, and two half-yard pieces of South African indigo shweshwe. Oh, yes, and some black-and-white FQs and a couple of lime greens.
Here are photos of some of the quilts that caught my eye. I did not get attributions for all of them.
Northwoods Awakening by Ann and Steve Loveless of Michigan. (
Website) It's 25 feet long, going from a photograph to a quilt.
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| On the Same Page by Linda Anderson |
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| Dance of the Magpies by Barb Forrister |
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| Cotton Sophisticate by Chawne Kmber |
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| Polyp by Betty Busby |
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| King Bird of Paradise by Ginny Eckley |
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| Slices of Opulence by Randa Mulford |
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| Playing Well Together by Jackie Nixon-Fulton |
There were more quilts on display than previous years. There was only one no-photos exhibit (antique red-and-green quilts). There weren't as many vendors, but that didn't stop me from shopping and acquiring fabric. Just 29 yards that included batiks, nice-quality homespuns, and two half-yard pieces of South African indigo shweshwe. Oh, yes, and some black-and-white FQs and a couple of lime greens.
Northwoods Awakening by Ann and Steve Loveless of Michigan. (Website) It's 25 feet long, going from a photograph to a quilt. 
I love your selection of quilts from the convention. Your comments concerning amount of vendors as well as number of quilts echos my observation as well. So inspirational. Thanks for your pics, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great variety of quilts displayed. I particularly like the Cotton Sophisticate. I marvel at how creative quilters are using pretty much the same beginnings -- fabric and thread. Impressive haul "just 29 yards!" They are beautiful though. I hope I see something new with them in the near future....
ReplyDeleteLove your purchases at the quilt show! I put myself on a strict "fabric diet" so I only bought a half yard and a couple of spools of thread! I was proud of myself! Lol! Interesting that the photos you took are almost all different than the ones I took. Different strokes......
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